how to give a helpful (and nice) critique

If you’re a writer, odds are you’re going to critique someone else’s work. Swap-critiquing is an awesome way to get a fresh opinion on your book (and an unbiased one, if you don’t personally know the critiquer).

But critiquing can be hard.

The lucky ones critique like they were born for it — and the not-so-lucky ones (like me) sweat over every comment, unsure of what they should say. Or what should they not say?! How much should they say?!

So, I have put together a few tips on how to give a helpful (and nice) critique.

1. Be positive.

Even when you’re telling the writer negative things about their work, you can say it positively.

Example: “Stop using passive verbs like ‘was’ and ‘were’. It makes your writing slow and boring.”

Try this: “Did you realize you use a lot of passive verbs? Like, ‘was’ and ‘were’? If you swapped them to action verbs, your writing would have a smoother flow, plus pack a crisper punch!”

Obviously, it takes more effort to be positive. But, trust me, it’s worth it. Nothing is more crushing for a writer then getting loads of negative feedback on your work.

2. Look for needless words.

Examples: very, that, maybe, actually, start, just, quite, thing…

Sentences like, “She started to run out the door,” can be changed to “She ran out the door.” It’s tighter! And why “start” to do something when you can do it?

3. Look for overuse of adverbs.

People will debate this one, but I’m with Mark Twain, “Kill the adverbs”. Not all of them, but consider each one. “Very” can usually go. If you need to use “I’m very hungry”, use “I’m starving”.

Adverbs can also be the “easy way out”. I can write:“You’re cute, but psycho,” she says endearingly.OR, I could say,She kisses the puppy’s floppy ears. “You’re cute, but psycho.”

PS. Okay, yes, I do use adverbs in my blog posts. A lot of adverbs. But my books are squeaky clean, I promise.

4. Too many dialogue tags?

What’s a “dialogue tag”?

“The puppy ate my sock,” he pouts.“I need fish cakes!” she wails.“And then I saw a purple alien!” he exclaimed.

Dialogue tags often yank the reader out of the story. Using “said” is a good thing! If the writer uses them occasionally, well, fine, but if every bout of dialogue is littered with these tags, the reader can be distracted.

Plus! Remember, beats! Look and see if the writer has a good mix of beats and tags. What’s a beat? (I’ll highlight the beats in blue (because blue is awesome).

“I need coffee.” The zombie fumbled with the espresso maker. “Why is there no coffee?”“I spent my holiday in the library.” The girl pockets her glasses. “Good news is, the airconditioning works again.”

5. Point out typos.

Thsi one’s prtty obvious, rihgt?

6. Look for objects that “disappear” or “reappear”.

You know that sword no one mentioned for three chapters and we assumed the hero had left it behind? Well, it’s back. We writers don’t always notice these things! So point them out.

7. Scenes that could be fleshed out.

Did you feel a scene was over too fast? Missing something? Did it happen too quickly? Make a note of that.

8. Check the dialogue is realistic.

If a word makes you do a double-take, it probably doesn’t fit the dialogue. Dialogue needs to be realistic, so as you’re reading, make sure no one’s speaking like an Oxford Dictionary (unless it’s in character for them, of course).

9. Find the writer’s pet word/phrase.

Most writers are guilty of this! They have a “pet” word or phrase they use. And overuse. Mine was “wormed”. My characters “wormed out of danger” and then “wormed across the ground”. It drove my critique (hi, Mum!) nuts.

Someone I critiqued for used the word “door” a lot. Another person’s was “blinked”. The word isn’t bad! Or wrong! Just point out how many times the writer is using it.

10. Don’t dissect.

Trust me, don’t do this, because a) you don’t need to, and b) it’s really overwhelming to get back your writing with fifty billion comments on every. single. word.

It does depend on what kind of critique you’re giving. Maybe the writer and you decided beforehand that you’re going to be “tough” and slash every sentence to perfection. That’s cool. But make sure you decide beforehand. Underlining every. single. dodgy. phrase is really overwhelming (for both of you). If you say, “You use a lot of passive verbs, ” say it a few times and leave it. When you’re finished critiquing the piece of writing, you can make a note at the end saying, “You might want to go through and tighten up some of your verbs. Action verbs pack a better punch then passive ones.”But highlighting every mistake? No need.

11. Give advice not instruction.

Unless you’re trained, don’t tell writers “what to do”. Most of the time, we’re all just amateurs together, trying to be awesome and get published. (Unless we’re already awesome. Which, let’s face it, is likely.) If you’ve gone to college/university or done writing courses, say so, but if you’ve just cruised the internet…yeah, um, you may be wrong sometimes.

Don’t use phrases like, “This is wrong.”You could say, “I’ve tried this and I get a good result…” OR “Have you heard this [insert advice]?”

Also, talk to the writer about what kind of critique they want.– Do they want line-by-line? (This is a huge commitment, so make sure you have loooots of time.)– Do they want an overall opinion of the plot or character development, etc.?– Do they want you to find the typos?This way, you don’t go all out in a dissection-critique when they just wanted an overall opinion of the story idea.

Never lie. Be honest. Be helpful. Be nice. (Easy, right? No brainer. Go critiquers!)

Our job is totally harder then the writers, eh?

Have you been a critiquer before? Did you find it easy or hard?! What do you think of my list? Want to add some of your tips?

cait is a writer. her current ambition is to write a book in every YA genre. her other ambition is to have a library with a spinny ladder. she’s currently reading the gathering dark (by christine johnson).

Comments

This was VERY helpful, seeing that I have recently gotten requests to critique peoples books. (Awesome, right?!?!)And then, the point out typos thing… bahahahaha! While Cait, this not "thsi" & right not "rihgt;)"Affectionately, your minion Layla;)

Awesome, but for me, totally daunting. I don't want to tell people their writing sucks. But I don't want to give them false ideas either… OH THE TERRORS OF BEING A CRITIQUE PARTNER.(Hehe…I'm glad you liked my typos.)

I'm SO trying that next time I critique. Especially the "You smell like fruit." Using it. Yep. I agree with you 100% there! I've swapped critiqued with a close friend and then with someone I met just for swapping manuscripts. The latter was waaaay easier. I don't want to hurt my friends by DESTROYING THEIR DREAMS AND AUTHORLY EGO. *ahem*

The hardest thing about writing critiques for me is that I'm deathly afraid of being too nice, or too harsh. I can't seem to find a middle ground. But this really helped me have some ideas about how to handle that issue!

Yep. I'm with you. And the middle ground is so important, eh? I think, if you say what you need to say positively and not negatively, you can still tell the writer lots of stuff they need to fix. Hopefully without mortally offending them. XD

I love this list. It is very helpful. Sometimes it's hard to keep in mind all the things you need to look for without getting caught in dissecting. Eck. I need to watch that dissecting thing. I do it to my own work so often, it's hard to turn it off. I also love the positive one. A critique group I occasionally attend has a rule that no matter how hard it is you must begin with something positive and end with something positive. Sometimes I read my critiques twice before sending them to someone. Because the first time I was trying to get it out while caught up in the story. The second time I look at it and think, "Maybe I should re-word that." Either because there's a more positive way to say it, or, well, I just didn't make much sense the first time. 😛

(PS Ashley, I love your critiques! They're so encouraging and helpful and…yeah. Awesome.)I'm always rewording comments too! And I like that rule of starting and ending with positive. I try that too. I always, always start with positive anyway, because, gosh, the writer has worked so hard and been so brave to give you their work…they need a little happy boost before you both get to work!

Yes, critiquing someone's work who is close to you can be a little tricky. It's hard to move from pointing out overuse of the same word (like worming) to giving an honest critique of other areas. Fortunately, Cait and I were able to work through this (I think). Mime on the other hand refuses to give me any of her work to critique. Maybe she knows something…..

Hehe…yes, Mum, you are an invaluable critiquer. Even if you did occasionally crush my delicate author ego. (I needed it.) One of these days you'll get to read CANONIC. I just have to pry it out of Mime's fossil fingers. (It's okay to let go, Mime. It is.)

Loved this! 😀 There's a very thin line that you have to balance on when it comes to critiquing. Are you being overly positive? Too negative? Are you too worried to point out mistakes because you think you'll come across as mean? What a juggling act.Something I've found useful when doing short critiques (like on "The Write Practice") is to say two things you liked about it and one thing you didn't like, or would've changed. It's been very handy!

I haven't critiqued before, but I'm generally good with positivity… about writing. I mean, there's always something good about eery book, and when you reember how hard they worked on it. Last December, I sent my first draft of my last novel out for a critique, and… the response I got back started with "The hook was good. Great, even. But, your novel needs a bit of work." Cue dramatic thunder, her telling me that tons of events were unrealistic, and the important plot points fell short. Ironically, she ended it with "Have a great day!"(I didn't, after that.)It took me the better part of a week to recover. (After the initial hurt, I have a rather thick skin.) After that, I started writing again. Better get to work, right?And I learned a valuable lesson; she should've been more polite, and I should've actually edited. Ah, well…

I've had some crushing critiques back (mostly on my query letter) that were pretty hard to swallow. >_< One critiquer was totally negative and said nil positive things. (Cue quiet sobbing.) But still! I can learn…I can. Sort of…sometimes. AHEM. <br />HA! "Have a great day"? After-I-just-ripped-out-your-heart…enjoy-it.

Fantastic post, Cait! I've done a fair bit of critiquing on a variety of things in my time – personal statements, stories, all sorts of things. Thanks for the tips on dialogue though! I'm hopeless at dialogue myself, so I've never been much good at critiquing it either!

Dialogue is a tricky one. (Especially if you throw in accents. Ack. It's too hard to pull of, but kind of fun to write.) Oh phew! Glad everyone liked it! I was a bit worried I was blathering on this one. 😉 Me? Blathering. Never, right?

I've critiqued a lot of stories and books for friends, and I honestly love doing it. I think one of the most important things is to agree beforehand on the depth of the critique. Also, I try to think about how my comments will sound to the other person.But my #1 piece of advice? Do. Not. Ever. Critique someone's work when you have PMS. Especially not for a dear friend. Wait a couple days. Learned this the hard way.But hey, Mum? Good for you for giving your daughters honest feedback! My mom just always says she liked or loved my work. "It was great!" is nice for the ego, but not helpful at all 🙂

Good point there! Try and see the comments like they would see them. Which isn't easy either! Ah, the trials we wonderful writers give ourselves (and how we love them). Oh, it's hard to take negative feedback from mothers. (Eh, Mum? :P) But my mum gives invaluable advice! My writing would be still in a puddle of flying unicorns (okay, not quite, but kind of around there) without my mum.

Hahaha, I know! I keep going around hiding insults between those two phrases. (That's from Tim Hawkins, "Tweet Song", in case you want to laugh some more.)Yep! So I've taken to being like, "oooh, I'm terrible at critiques" when my friends want me to look their work over. I'm terrible.

Ahhh yes. I love your list. 😀 I haven't done much critiquing of fiction work yet (*coughs* read: any), however I've done a nice amount of editing non-fiction such as my little sister's school writing, editing for the newspaper my virtual school has (ohhh don't ask), etc. I really enjoy helping people make their writing better. 🙂 I usually have no problem with being positive–I'm that kind of person, LOL. I like the challenge of being helpful but wording it nicely. But yeah, I'm definitely more likely to fall on the side of "too nice" if I'm going to fall on one. 😉

Is it a virtual newspaper for your virtual school? (At any rate, it sounds fabulous.)I'm more on the side of too-nice then too-harsh. But hey! Which is better deluded or heartbroken? Okay…don't answer that… XD